Abstract:

After the Voortrekkers had established themselves in the Transvaal in the thirties and forties of the previous century, they regarded it as a priority to gain access to an independent harbour. By this they meant one which was not under British jurisdiction. After the annexation of Natal, the only possible access to such a harbour was via Portuguese territory. The obvious harbour was Lourenco Marques situated in Mozambique. Voortrekker leaders, like Louis Trichardt and A.H. Potgieter, had visited Mozambique. This led to the founding of Ohrigstad and Lydenburg in order to establish regular traffic with Lourenco Marques. During M.W. Pretoriuss period of office as president of the ZAR, a Scotsman, Alexander McCorkindale. planned to implement a harbour scheme in the Portuguese harbours. All these attempts failed, but the Boers were still interested in Lourenco Marques. In 1873 payable gold was discovered in the Eastern Transvaal in the Lydenburg district, and president Burgers proclaimed the Lydenburg-Ohrigstad area as goldfields. Burgers realised how important it was for the Transvaal to have its own harbour. At that stage a friendship treaty existed between the Portuguese government and the ZAR. President Burgers decided to raise funds in Europe for the building of a railway line between Pretoria and Lourenco Marques. In 1873, Alois Hugo Nellmapius. from Kimberley, established himself as a digger on the Eastern Transvaal goldfields He met O W.A. Forssman in Kimberley, who offered him a post as terminus manager for the Transvaal Goldfields Extension Transport Company in Pilgrims Rest. This was a company that transported passengers and goods from Kimberley to the Eastern Transvaal goldfields. Nellmapius soon realised that president Burgerss railway-plan would take many years to become operational and took the initiative to apply to the Volksraad to establish a transport scheme between the goldfields of the Eastern Transvaal and Lourenco Marques. Much has been written about Nellmapiuss later stay in Pretoria, but there are only a few references to the pioneering work he did in the Eastern Transvaal. For that reason a decision was made to study his stay during the seventies in the Eastern Transvaal goldfields, and to describe it in more detail. The dissertation gives an overview of his activities as a digger on the goldfields. An interpretation is given of how Nellmapius planned the transport scheme. The conditions under which the Volksraad gave him permission to implement the scheme are explained. The contracts which he drew up with the ZAR, the Portuguese government and his partner are described. The implementation of the transport scheme is discussed. The scheme failed, mainly as a result of the Sekhukhune War. Nellmapius went bankrupt and the bank, which had given the guarantees, tried to sell the scheme to the British after the first annexation of Transvaal in 1877. The bank failed to accomplish this, but in 1883 the Transvaal government permanently re-allocated the farms which had been allocated to Nellmapius during the negotiation phase. He succeeded in surviving financially. His undertakings in Irene, where he established himself after his stay in the Eastern Transvaal, were more successful and he also become well-known because of the influence he had on President Kruger.